JP4506345B2 - Printing control apparatus, method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

A print control apparatus which performs printing process with a printer using coloring agents of the plurality of color components includes: an identification image controller that controls to add the identification image data to the print image data without color space conversion being performed when the printer prints the document in which the identification image is composed. The identification image includes an embedding image and an embedded image. The embedding image and the embedded image are formed to be superposed on each other, and the embedded image is processed in advance so that visual identification of the embedding image is difficult under visible light when the embedding image and the embedded image are printed.

Description

  The present invention relates to a print control apparatus, method, and program, and in particular, performs predetermined processing on document information of a print target document in order to cause the printer to print the print target document using printing agents having a plurality of color components. Thus, a print control apparatus that generates print image data of a specific color space that represents a document to be printed divided into a plurality of color components, a print control method that can be applied to the print control apparatus, and a computer that includes the print control apparatus The present invention relates to a print control program for functioning as

  In order to deter abuse of copied materials against the backdrop of recent increases in the performance of copying machines and printers, and the increased use of copies of banknotes and securities copied by copying machines and printers. In addition, the authenticity of various documents printed on various papers (in addition to banknotes and securities mentioned above, such as passports, various rights documents, resident's cards, birth certificates, insurance certificates, guarantees, confidential documents, etc.) The establishment of a technology that can determine with high accuracy is awaited.

For this reason, in Patent Document 1, only the K ink among the inks of the respective color components of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) contains an infrared light absorbing dye. As an image that can identify the authenticity of various documents printed on paper, a first area composed of m × m pixels (m is an integer of 2 or more) and n × n pixels ( n is A plurality of first regions that are independent of each other and are arranged without gaps around the single second region, and that are independent of each other. Are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the outer periphery of a single first area, and an embedded image to be printed with Y, M, C ink is arranged with halftone dots in the first area, and K ink Has proposed a technique for composing and printing an identification image in which embedded images to be printed in the second area are arranged in halftone dots in a document. It is.

According to the above technique, in the regular printing method, since the embedded image embedded in the identification image is printed using only K ink containing an infrared light absorbing dye, infrared light is applied to the identification image. The presence of the embedded image can be confirmed by irradiating and observing. On the other hand, when an identification image printed by a regular printing method is copied (scanned by a scanner and printed by a printer), the scanner uses “black” formed with Y, M, and C inks (“ Black ”) and“ black ”of K ink (“ black ”on the embedded image) cannot be distinguished, and the embedded image and the embedded image cannot be separated. Therefore, since the embedded image is not reproduced on the identification image of the copied document (the presence of the embedded image cannot be confirmed even by observing by irradiating with infrared light), it can be determined to be a fake. As described above, the above technique does not require special ink, and can determine the authenticity of a document at a low cost.
JP 2003-136828 A

  Incidentally, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is premised on printing using Y, M, C, and K inks used in general commercial printing, but Y, M, C, and K toners. Since only the K toner contains an infrared light-absorbing dye, when a document is printed with an electrophotographic printer using Y, M, C, K toner, Application of the above technique is expected to realize authenticity determination of a document.

  However, when the document is printed by the printer based on the information of the document to be printed, although printing is finally performed using the Y, M, C, and K toners by the printer, the processing speed and resources such as the memory are limited. For the purpose of effective use, the information of the document to be printed is temporarily converted into image data in a color space other than Y, M, C, K such as R, G, B, L * a * b *, etc. After various image processing is performed, the image data is often reconverted into Y, M, C, and K image data and printed. Then, once the information of the print target document to which the identification image information is added is converted into image data in a color space other than Y, M, C, and K as described above, Since the information of the embedded image and the information of the embedded image are mixed on the converted image data, the identification image represented by the information of the original identification image cannot be printed accurately, and based on the printed identification image There was a problem that the authenticity of the document could not be determined.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and obtains a print control apparatus, a print control method, and a print control program capable of accurately printing an identification image added to a document so that the authenticity of the document can be determined. Is the purpose.

Print control apparatus according to claim 1 in order to achieve the above object, in order to print the print target document using a printing agent of the plurality of color components by a printer, the printing on the document information of the print target document By performing a process including a first process for converting the document information of the target document into intermediate print data described in a page description language by a printer driver, and a second process for developing the intermediate print data into the print image data by a decomposer. A print control apparatus for generating print image data in a specific color space that represents the document to be printed divided into the plurality of color components, and is an embedded image composed of only the specific color component of the plurality of color components And an embedded image composed of color components other than the specific color component among the plurality of color components is superimposed and configured to be embedded with visible light in a printed state. When printing a print target document in which an identification image in which an embedded image is processed in advance so that the image is difficult to visually recognize is printed, the identification image is represented by decomposing the identification image into the plurality of color components. Control is performed so that identification image data given as data is combined with the print image data without being subjected to a color space conversion process, and a plurality of processes for performing first processing with different processing contents as the printer driver are performed. Various types of printer drivers are prepared, and the identification image data is added by a specific printer driver that can print without converting the data of a specific color space to be printed into data of another color space. And an identification image control means for controlling the document information of the document to be printed so that the first process is performed .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the first printer mode allows the specific printer driver to print without converting the data of a specific color space to be printed into data of another color space. And a second print mode in which data in a specific color space to be printed is temporarily converted into data in another color space at the time of printing, and the identification image control means has the identification image data added thereto The document information of the document to be printed is controlled so that the first process is performed in the first print mode by the specific printer driver.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the identification image further includes a determination unit that determines whether or not the identification image data is added to document information of a document to be printed. The control unit is activated when the determination unit determines that the identification image data is added to the document information.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, when the identification image control unit is instructed to synthesize and print an identification image on the print target document, the print target The identification image data is added to document information of a document.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to the fourth aspect, the combined position of the identification image is displayed when the print target document is displayed on a display unit based on the document information of the print target document. A designation unit for designating on the document to be printed, and a display control unit for displaying the identification image at a composite position designated via the designation unit, wherein the identification image control unit includes the designation unit The identification image data is added or combined so that the print target document in which the identification image is combined is printed at the combination position designated via the means.

The invention of claim 6 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the printing agent is toner, and the plurality of color components are Y, M, C, K, and the specific color component Is characterized in that the toner is K containing an infrared light absorbing dye.

The invention according to claim 7 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the identification image includes a first area composed of m × m pixels (m is an integer of 2 or more), and n × A second region composed of n pixels (n is an integer of 1 or more and less than m) is provided, and a plurality of independent first regions are arranged around the single second region without any gap and are independent from each other A plurality of second areas are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the outer periphery of a single first area, the embedded image is arranged with halftone dots in the first area, and the embedded image is the first area. It is characterized by being arranged with halftone dots in two areas.

In order to achieve the above object, the printing control method according to claim 8 is characterized in that the printing target document is printed with respect to the document information of the printing target document in order to cause the printer to print the printing target document using printing agents having a plurality of color components. By performing a process including a first process for converting the document information of the target document into intermediate print data described in a page description language by a printer driver, and a second process for developing the intermediate print data into the print image data by a decomposer. , When generating print image data of a specific color space representing the document to be printed divided into the plurality of color components, an embedded image consisting only of the specific color component of the plurality of color components; The embedded image composed of the color components other than the specific color component among the color components is overlapped, and the embedded image is visually recognized by visible light in a printed state. When printing a document to be printed in which an identification image in which an embedded image is processed in advance so as to be difficult is printed, the identification image is given as data of the specific color space that is expressed by being decomposed into the plurality of color components. A plurality of types of printer drivers that control the identification image data so as to be combined with the print image data without being subjected to color space conversion processing, and perform first processing with different processing contents as the printer driver The print object to which the identification image data is added by a specific printer driver capable of printing without converting the data of the specific color space to be printed into data of another color space. Control is performed so that the first processing is performed on document information of a document .

  In order to achieve the above object, a printing control method according to claim 9 includes an embedded image composed of only a specific color component of a plurality of color components, and a color component other than the specific color component of the plurality of color components. A print target document composed of an identification image in which an embedded image is processed in advance so that it is difficult to visually recognize the embedded image in a printed state. In order to print using a plurality of color component printing agents by a printer connected to a computer, the document information of the document to be printed is converted into intermediate print data described in a page description language by a printer driver, and the intermediate The print image data is generated by developing the print data into print image data in a specific color space that is expressed by decomposing the print target document into the plurality of color components by a decomposer. As a printer driver that performs a first process of converting document information of a document to be printed into intermediate print data described in a page description language, data in a specific color space to be printed is temporarily converted into data in another color space. A specific printer driver that can be printed without being installed is installed in the computer, and data in a specific color space to be printed is temporarily converted into data in another color space by the specific print driver. In the case where there is provided a first print mode that is printed without printing and a second print mode that is printed after data in a specific color space to be printed is once converted into data in another color space, The first process by a specific printer driver is set to always be performed in the first print mode.

  In order to achieve the above object, a print control program according to claim 10 is configured to print the document to be printed with respect to document information of the document to be printed in order to cause the printer to print the document to be printed using printing agents having a plurality of color components. By performing a process including a first process for converting the document information of the target document into intermediate print data described in a page description language by a printer driver, and a second process for developing the intermediate print data into the print image data by a decomposer. A computer that generates print image data of a specific color space that represents the print target document by dividing the document into a plurality of color components, an embedded image including only the specific color component of the plurality of color components, and the plurality The embedded image composed of color components other than the specific color component among the color components is superimposed and configured in the printed state. The specific color space that represents the identification image by decomposing the identification image into the plurality of color components when printing a print target document obtained by synthesizing an identification image in which an embedded image is processed in advance so that the embedded image is difficult to visually recognize. Control is performed so that the identification image data given as the data is combined with the print image data without being subjected to color space conversion processing, and the printer driver performs first processing with different processing contents. Multiple types of printer drivers are prepared, and the identification image data is added by a specific printer driver that can print without converting the data of a specific color space to be printed into data of another color space. Functioning as identification image control means for controlling the first processing to be performed on the document information of the printed document to be printed. To.

  As described above, according to the present invention, an embedded image composed only of a specific color component of a plurality of color components and an embedded image composed of a color component other than the specific color component are superimposed and printed. When printing a document to be printed that combines an identification image in which the embedded image is processed in advance so that it is difficult to visually recognize the embedded image with visible light, the identification image is divided into a plurality of color components and expressed. Since the identification image data given as the data of the specific color space is controlled so as to be combined with the print image data without being subjected to the color space conversion processing, the document can be determined so that the authenticity of the document can be determined. It has an excellent effect that the identification image to be added to can be printed accurately.

  The present invention also provides a printer driver that performs a first process of converting document information of a document to be printed into intermediate print data described in a page description language, and temporarily transfers data in a specific color space to be printed to data in another color space. A specific printer driver that can be printed without conversion is installed, and data in a specific color space to be printed is temporarily converted to data in another color space in a specific print driver. The first print mode to be printed and the second print mode to be printed after the data of the specific color space to be printed is once converted into the data of another color space. Since the first processing by the driver is set to always be performed in the first print mode, the identification image added to the document is corrected so that the authenticity of the document can be determined. Can be printed, it has an excellent effect that.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows a printing system 10 according to the present embodiment. The printing system 10 is configured by connecting a computer 12 and a printer 14 via a communication line 16 such as a LAN. The printing system 10 is not limited to the configuration in which the single computer 12 is provided, and a plurality of computers 12 may be provided. The computer 12 is preferably a personal computer (PC), for example, but is not limited thereto, and may be another computer such as a workstation, and a plurality of PCs functioning as clients. Each of the workstations functioning as a server may be provided.

  The computer 12 includes a CPU 12A, a ROM 12B, a RAM 12C, and an input / output port 12D that are connected to each other via a bus 10E including a data bus, a control bus, an address bus, and the like. The input / output port 12D includes a network interface 20 connected to the communication line 16, a display 22 composed of a CRT or LCD, a keyboard 24, a mouse 26, a hard disk drive (HDD) 28, a CD as various input / output devices. A CD-ROM drive 32 for reading information from the ROM 30 is connected to each other. Also, in the HDD 28 of the computer 12, a document handling application program for creating a document (print target document) to be printed by the printer 14 or updating (editing) the created print target document, and the print target document in the printer 14. A printer driver program and a spooler program (to be described later) are installed.

  In some embodiments to be described later, an identification image printing control program is also installed in the HDD 28 of the computer 12, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. The identification image print control program corresponds to the print control program according to claim 13. There are several methods for installing (transferring) the identification image printing control program to the computer 12. For example, the identification image printing control program is recorded on the CD-ROM 30 together with the setup program, and the CD-ROM 30 is stored in the CD-ROM. When the ROM 12 is set and the CPU 12A is instructed to execute the setup program, the identification image print control program is sequentially read from the CD-ROM 30, and the read identification image print control program is sequentially written to the HDD 28. As a result, the identification image printing control program is installed. In an aspect in which the identification image print control program is installed in the HDD 28 of the computer 12, the computer 12 functions as the identification image control means of the print control apparatus according to the present invention by the CPU 12A executing the identification image print control program.

  On the other hand, the printer 14 includes a network interface 36 connected to the communication line 16. The network interface 36 includes a microcomputer, and controls the operation of each part of the printer 14 and performs various processes (for example, described later). A printer control unit 38 is connected for performing a decomposing process for generating image data for printing. The printer control unit 38 includes a storage unit 40 including a non-volatile storage unit such as an HDD and a flash memory and a volatile storage unit such as a RAM, a display unit including an LCD panel, a numeric keypad, and the like. A display / operation unit 42 configured to include an operation unit, and print image data input from the printer control unit 38 (Y, M, A color image is formed by electrophotography using toners of Y, M, C, and K color components based on bit map data of C, K color space), and the formed color image is transferred and fixed on a recording sheet. An image forming unit 44 that prints a document to be printed on a recording sheet is connected to each other.

  A nonvolatile storage unit of the storage unit 40 is preinstalled with a decomposer program for the printer control unit 38 to perform a decomposing process and a printer-side spooler (described later) program. In the fourth embodiment to be described later, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 1, an identification image print control program is also installed in the nonvolatile storage means of the storage unit 40. Installation (transfer) of the identification image printing control program to the storage unit 40 of the printer 14 may be performed in advance, for example, when the printer 14 is manufactured, or the CPU 12A of the computer 12 executes a predetermined setup program. It can also be performed by the computer 12. The identification image printing control program in the aspect (fourth embodiment) in which the identification image printing control program is installed in the storage unit 40 of the printer 14 also corresponds to the printing control program according to claim 13. When the printer control unit 38 executes the identification image print control program, the printer 14 functions as the identification image control means of the print control apparatus according to the present invention.

  Next, as an operation of the first embodiment, an identification image added (synthesized) to a print target document will be described first. As described above, the image forming unit 44 forms a color image using printing agents of a plurality of color components, that is, Y, M, C, and K toners. Infrared light absorbing dye (carbon) is contained, and even if the image formed and printed using Y, M, and C toners is irradiated with infrared light, the toner hardly absorbs infrared light. The printed image cannot be seen visually, but when infrared light is irradiated to an image formed and printed using only K toner, a part of the irradiated infrared light is absorbed by the K toner. You can see the printed image.

  The identification image is an image created by using the above phenomenon to enable the authenticity determination of the document. As shown in FIG. 2, as an example, among the color components of Y, M, C, and K Embedded image composed of only K (corresponding to the invention described in claim 2) and an embedded image composed of Y, M, and C other than K are superimposed. FIG. 2 shows an example in which a line drawing image representing the outline of a predetermined figure (triangle) is used as an embedded image, and a solid image having a constant color and density is used as an embedded image. The image is not limited, and may be a multi-tone image (for example, a natural image), and a full-color image composed of many kinds of colors can be applied as the embedded image.

Further, the identification image has a first area composed of m × m pixels (m is an integer of 2 or more) and n × n pixels ( where n is an integer) in order to make the embedded image less noticeable on paper at the time of print output. A plurality of first regions that are independent of each other and are arranged without gaps around the single second region, and that are independent of each other. Are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the outer periphery of the single first area, the embedded image is arranged with halftone dots in the first area, and the embedded image is arranged with halftone dots in the second area. (Corresponding to the invention of claim 3). Further, the embedded image has a portion overlapping the line image of the embedded image so that it is difficult to visually recognize the embedded image with visible light in a state where the image is superimposed and printed. Is processed so that the density of the portion looks the same as the original density according to the density of the line drawing of the embedded image in a state of being superimposed on the embedded image. The identification image is an image in which the embedded image is arranged in the second area with halftone dots and the embedded image is arranged in the first area as a multi-valued image instead of halftone dots, and the above processing is performed. May be.

  Thus, the identification image data (in this embodiment, the identification image data is given as bitmap data in the Y, M, C, K color space that represents the identification image by decomposing the identification image into Y, M, C, K color components. When an identification image is formed using Y, M, C, and K toners and printed on a recording sheet, the embedded image is printed using only K toner, and the embedded image is printed as Y, M. , C toner, the identification image on the recording sheet can be seen only when the image is irradiated with visible light, and only the embedded image is visible (the embedded image is not visually recognized). The embedded image is an image that can be visually recognized (the presence of the embedded image can be confirmed) only when observed by irradiating with external light.

  On the other hand, when an identification image printed on a recording sheet is read by a scanner and printed on another recording sheet by an arbitrary printer based on the image data obtained by the reading, the identification image is copied to another recording sheet. The scanner has a configuration in which the image to be read is separated into R, G, and B color components and read, and “black” (Y on the embedded image) formed with Y, M, and C toner in the image to be read. Since “black”) and “black” of the K toner (“black” on the embedded image) cannot be identified, the embedded image and the embedded image are not separated from the scanner (unevenly integrated) Image data is output. For this reason, even if an identification image printed (copied) on another recording paper by an arbitrary printer based on image data output from the scanner is irradiated with infrared light and observed, the presence of an embedded image is not confirmed. .

  Therefore, when printing a document in which a copy may be abused, if the identification image is printed together on the same recording paper using the identification image data, the identification image printed on the document is irradiated with infrared light. By checking whether the embedded image can be seen by irradiating the image, it is possible to easily determine the authenticity of the document (discrimination between a legitimate document printed using the identification image data and its copy). be able to.

  However, in this embodiment, when printing of document data created or edited by the document handling application is instructed via the document handling application, printing of the print target document is performed by the printer driver (CPU 12A that executes the program). Document data of a document to be printed is converted into intermediate print data described in a page description language, the intermediate print data is transferred from the computer 12 to the printer 14 via the communication line 16, and a decomposing process is performed by the printer control unit 38. After the intermediate print data is expanded into Y, M, C, and K print image data, the print image data is transferred to the image forming unit 44. The printer 14 prints the document to be printed. There are several types of printer drivers Are provided (for example, a Postscript (R) driver and a PLW (Printer Language for Windows (registered trademark)) driver). Among these types of printer drivers, Y, M included in the information of the document to be printed , C, K color space image data is always converted into image data of another color space (for example, R, G, B color space), and after predetermined processing, the Y, M, C, K color space A printer driver (for example, a PLW driver) that is used for printing after being reconverted into image data is included.

  Among a plurality of types of printer drivers, a printer capable of printing without converting image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the information of the document to be printed into image data in another color space A driver (for example, a Postscript (R) driver) is provided with a plurality of types of printing modes (for example, a high-definition mode and a high-speed printing mode). The image data in the Y, M, C, K color space is always converted to image data in another color space (for example, R, G, B color space), and after predetermined processing, Y, M, C, K A print mode (for example, a high-speed print mode) used for printing after being reconverted into color space image data is included. When printing a document to which an identification image is added, a printer driver that always prints image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the information of the document to be printed into image data in another color space. Or the printing mode is selected, the identification image data in the Y, M, C, K color space added to the information of the document to be printed is converted into the identification image data in the R, G, B color space. In the converted identification image data, the black on the embedded image and the black on the embedded image are mixed (unevenly integrated), so the identification image is accurately (irradiated with infrared light). This causes a problem that printing cannot be performed (so that an embedded image can be visually recognized if observed).

  For this reason, in the first embodiment, as a printer driver for printing a document by the printer 14, image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the information of the document to be printed is converted into an image in another color space. Only a specific printer driver (for example, a PostScript (R) driver) that can be printed without being converted into data is installed in the HDD 28 of the computer 12 in advance. In addition, since the specific printer driver has a plurality of types of print modes (high-definition mode, high-speed print mode, etc.), in the first embodiment, when printing using the specific printer driver, The printer driver is always in a print mode (high-definition mode) in which image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the information of the document to be printed is printed without being converted into image data in another color space. A specific printer driver is set to work. As described above, the first embodiment corresponds to the invention described in claim 12.

  Next, printing of a print target document in the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the first embodiment, the identification image print control program is installed in the HDD 28 of the computer 12, and the above-described identification image data is also stored in the HDD 28 in advance. A user activates a document handling application on the computer 12 and uses the activated document handling application to create a document to be printed by operating the keyboard 24, mouse 26, etc., or created and saved on another computer When the print target document is instructed to be printed via the document handling application after the print target document is updated (edited), the printer driver is normally activated on the computer 12 (the printer driver program is updated). In the first embodiment, when printing of a document to be printed is instructed, an identification image print control program is first started on the computer 12 (the identification image print control program is executed by the CPU 12A). ), The identification image is synthesized as shown in FIG. Document data to be printed documents in a state where no is delivered from the document handling application to identify the image printing control program.

  Note that the identification image print control program is activated when printing of a document to be printed is instructed via the document handling application, for example, by the operating system installed in the HDD 28 of the computer 12 or the manufacturer of the document handling application. This can be realized by developing and installing a control program that uses the provided SDK (Software Development Kit) to hook the above-mentioned print instruction and start the identification image print control program. When the document data of the print target document is delivered from the document handling application, the identification image print control program reads the identification image data from the HDD 28 so that the identification image is synthesized at a predetermined position on the print target document. The read identification image data is added to the document data of the document to be printed. Then, the printer driver is activated on the computer 12, and the document data of the document to be printed with the identification image data added thereto is delivered to the activated specific printer driver (see also FIG. 3).

  The identification image print control program according to the first embodiment adds the identification image data to the document data of the print target document uniformly when the document data of the print target document is delivered from the document handling application. The printing system 10 according to the first embodiment functions as a system dedicated to printing a document to which an identification image is added. Instead of this, it is determined whether or not an identification image composition is instructed by a user at the time of activation. It is possible to add the identification image data to the document to be printed only when it is determined and the synthesis of the identification image is instructed.

  In the first embodiment, as a printer driver for printing a document by the printer 14, image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the information of the document to be printed is converted into image data in another color space. Since only the specific printer driver that can be printed without being installed is installed, the specific printer driver is automatically activated by the above processing, and the specific printer driver stores the document data of the delivered document to be printed in a predetermined manner. A process (a process corresponding to the first process) for converting the print target document into intermediate print data described in the page description language is performed. In the first embodiment, the specific printer driver is set in advance so as to always operate in the high definition mode. Therefore, the specific printer driver converts the document data of the delivered print target document into intermediate print data in the high definition mode.

  Specifically, the intermediate print data is composed of a header and a data body as shown in FIG. 3, and each piece of data representing a print target document (represented in the print target document) is included in the data body of the intermediate print data. Text data representing text, image data representing an image to be added to the document to be printed, etc.) are described, but each data described in the data body has any color in the decomposing process executed by the printer 14. A parameter for designating data to be processed in space is added (in FIG. 3, as an example, a parameter for designating data to be processed in Y, M, C, K color space is designated as “YMCKwrite (...)”. "). When the high-definition mode is set as the print mode, the specific printer driver indicates that each data described in the data body of the intermediate print data is data to be processed in the Y, M, C, K color space. Each parameter to be specified is added (see FIG. 3).

  In addition, attribute information of the document to be printed is set in the header of the intermediate print data, and this attribute information includes mode designation information for designating a print mode in the decomposing process. When the information for specifying the mode is set in the header, the specification of the print mode has priority over the specification of the parameters of each data described in the data body of the intermediate print data, so that Y, M For the data described in the data body of the intermediate print data with the parameter specifying that the data should be processed in the C, K, K color space, the data in the R, G, B color space is also processed by the decomposing process described later. Once converted into data and subjected to predetermined processing, it is reconverted into Y, M, C, K color space data. Therefore, when the high-definition mode is set as the print mode, the specific printer driver separates the image data in the Y, M, C, and K color spaces included in the information of the document to be printed as the print mode in the decomposing process. The information for designating the high-definition mode to be printed without being converted into the image data in the color space is set (see FIG. 3, the information for designating the high-definition mode as an example in FIG. Notation).

  When the intermediate print data of the print target document is generated as described above, the specific printer driver activates the spooler by causing the CPU 12A to execute the spooler program (see FIG. 3), and the intermediate print data of the generated print target document is stored. Hand it over to the spooler. The spooler sequentially stores and stores the intermediate print data generated by the printer driver in the HDD 28, and communicates with the printer 14 via the network interface 20, reads out the intermediate print data stored and stored in order from the HDD 28, and sends it to the printer 14. Forward.

  In the printer 14, when the intermediate print data transferred from the computer 12 is received, the printer-side spooler program (see FIG. 3) is activated by the printer control unit 38 executing the printer-side spooler program. The printer-side spooler sequentially accumulates and stores the intermediate print data received from the computer 12 in the non-volatile storage means of the storage unit 40, and starts the decomposer by causing the printer control unit 38 to execute the decomposer program, and stores and stores the intermediate print data. The intermediate print data thus read is sequentially read out from the storage means and transferred to the decomposer in order.

  The decomposer determines the specified print mode by referring to the header of the intermediate print data delivered from the printer-side spooler, and for each data described in the data body of the intermediate print data, the determined print mode and Based on the parameters added to each data, each color space is determined to be processed, and based on the determination result, color space conversion processing is performed as necessary, and then predetermined processing (for example, color correction processing) Y, M, C, K representing a document to be printed by rendering each processed data as bitmap data of Y, M, C, K after performing image correction processing, density correction processing, image compression processing, etc. A decomposing process for generating image data for color space printing is performed. The decomposer transfers the generated print image data to the image forming unit 44 so that the print target document represented by the generated print image data is printed on the recording paper by the image forming unit 44.

  In the first embodiment, when a document is printed by the printer 14, image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the information of the document to be printed is not converted into image data in another color space. A specific printer driver capable of printing is used in a fixed manner, and image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the information of the document to be printed is changed to image data in another color space as a print mode. Since the high-definition mode that is printed without being converted is fixedly used, the identification image data (Y, M, C, K representing the identification image) added to the document data of the document to be printed by the identification image printing control program The color space bitmap data) is synthesized with the image data for printing by the decomposing process by the decomposer without being converted into the data of the other color space such as the R, G, B color space. .

  The print target document is printed using the print image data, so that the identification image is accurately printed so that the authenticity of the document can be determined, and the printed matter obtained by printing by the image forming unit 44. The presence of the embedded image can be confirmed when the identification image printed thereon is observed by irradiating infrared light. In the first embodiment, when printing a print target document in which identification images are combined, it is not necessary for the user to select a printer driver or a print mode in order to print the identification image accurately. The burden on the user when printing the document to be printed can also be reduced.

In the first embodiment described above, when printing of a print target document is instructed via the document handling application, the identification image print control program is activated, and the activated identification image print control program generates document data of the print target document. Although the aspect (refer FIG. 3) of adding an identification image to a printing object document by adding identification image data was demonstrated, it is not restricted to this. For example, when the spooler transfers intermediate print data to the printer 14, a predetermined program (generally called a printer processor) is activated. For example, as shown in FIG. The control program is configured to be activated, and the identification image print control program adds the identification image data to the intermediate print data generated by the specific printer driver (the identification image data is added to the intermediate print data). For example, a parameter that specifies that the data should be processed in the Y, M, C, and K color spaces and a parameter that specifies the combination position of the identification image on the print target document are added to the data portion of the intermediate print data. Can be realized by adding the identification image data), and adding the identification image to the document to be printed Good Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In addition, since each embodiment described below (including the second embodiment) has substantially the same configuration as that of the first embodiment described above, the same reference numerals are given to the respective parts, and description of the configuration is omitted. In the following, the operation of each embodiment will be described only for parts different from the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the second embodiment, a plurality of printer drivers including the specific printer driver described in the first embodiment are used as printer drivers that can be used when a document is printed by the printer 14. Each is installed in the HDD 28. The second embodiment is also different from the first embodiment in that each installed printer driver is provided with a plurality of print modes and the print mode used at the time of printing is not fixed. Furthermore, in the second embodiment, when there is a document to be printed by combining the identification images, the identification image is combined (added) by the user while the document handling application is activated on the computer 12. When instructed, identification image data is added to the document data of the document by the document handling application.

  In the second embodiment, when printing of a print target document is instructed via the document handling application, first, an identification image print control program is started on the computer 12 (the identification image print control program is executed by the CPU 12A). The document data of the document to be printed is delivered from the document handling application to the identification image print control program. When the document data of the print target document is delivered from the document handling application, the identification image print program according to the second embodiment determines whether the identification image data is added to the document data of the delivered print target document. To do. In the second embodiment, when the user can specify an arbitrary printer driver and an arbitrary print mode at the time of printing instruction, and the identification image data is not added to the document data of the document to be printed, the identification image print control program The printer driver specified by the user at the time of print instruction is started, the document data of the document to be printed (document data to which no identification image data is added) is delivered to the started printer driver, and specified by the user at the time of print instruction. By notifying the printer driver that has started the print mode, processing for generating intermediate print data from the delivered document data is performed in the designated print mode.

  On the other hand, if the identification image data is added to the document data of the delivered print target document, the identification image print control program prints the print target regardless of the designation of the printer driver and print mode by the user at the time of print instruction. A specific printer driver capable of printing without converting image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the document information into image data in another color space is activated, and the activated specific printer driver is activated. The document data of the document to be printed (document data to which the identification image data is added) is handed over, and the image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the information of the document to be printed is a different color as the print mode. By notifying the specific printer driver of the high-definition mode that is printed without being converted to space image data, the intermediate print data is A process of generating, to perform in the high definition mode by a particular printer driver. As described above, the second embodiment corresponds to the invention described in claim 1 (specifically, the invention described in claims 4 to 6).

  Thus, as in the first embodiment, for the print target document to which the identification image data is added, the identification image data (Y, M, C, The bitmap data in the K color space) is synthesized with the image data for printing by the decomposing process by the decomposer without being converted into data in another color space such as the R, G, B color space. The print target document is printed using the print image data, so that the identification image is accurately printed so that the authenticity of the document can be determined, and the printed matter obtained by printing by the image forming unit 44. The presence of the embedded image can be confirmed when the identification image printed thereon is observed by irradiating infrared light.

  In the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the user selects an appropriate printer driver and print mode in order to print the identification image accurately when printing the print target document obtained by synthesizing the identification image. (Even if an inappropriate printer driver / printing mode is selected by the user, it is automatically changed to an appropriate printer driver / printing mode). The burden on the user can also be reduced.

  In the second embodiment, the identification image data is added in advance to the document data of the print target document to be printed by combining the identification images. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is determined whether or not the identification image composition is instructed by the user, and when it is determined that the identification image composition is instructed, in addition to the selection of the printer driver / print mode described above, the print target document is displayed. The identification image may be added (combined) together. The addition (combination) of the identification image to the print target document may be performed on the document data of the print target document as shown in FIG. 3, or the intermediate print data of the print target document as shown in FIG. You may go. The above matter corresponds to the invention described in claim 7.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, in the third embodiment, the identification image print control program according to the present invention is started when a print target document is instructed via a document handling application; The second program is activated when intermediate print data is transferred from the spooler to the printer 14.

  In the third embodiment, when printing of a print target document is instructed via a document handling application, first, the first program of the identification image print control program is started on the computer 12, and the document data of the print target document is stored in the document. Delivered from the handling application. When the document data of the print target document is delivered from the document handling application, the activated first program determines whether the print target document corresponding to the delivered document data is a document instructed by the user to synthesize the identification image. Only when the print target document is a document instructed to synthesize the identification image, an identification image addition instruction for instructing the print target document to add the identification image is output to the second program. The first program activates the printer driver designated by the user at the time of print instruction, delivers the document data of the document to be printed to the activated printer driver, and activates the print mode designated by the user at the time of print instruction. Is notified to the intermediate print data from the delivered document data in the designated print mode.

  In the third embodiment, the intermediate print data is generated from the document data of the document to be printed in the print mode specified by the user by the printer driver specified by the user. Is data that cannot be guaranteed that the image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the information of the print target document is printed without being converted into image data in another color space. In FIG. 6, as an example, the above intermediate print data is set in the header with information designating the high-speed print mode as the print mode in the decomposing process (in FIG. 6, this mode designation information is expressed as “mode: high-speed”). A parameter that specifies that the processing in the decomposing process is performed in the R, G, B color space for each data described in the data body (in FIG. 6, this parameter is expressed as “RGBwrite (...)”). Is shown as added information.

  In the third embodiment, when the document to be printed is a document for which no identification image synthesis is instructed, an identification image addition instruction is not output from the first program to the second program, so the intermediate print data is output from the spooler to the printer 14. In the second program that is activated when the image is transferred, the intermediate print data of the document to be transferred is simply transferred to the printer 14 without performing processing such as adding identification image data. In this case, depending on the parameters added to each data described in the data body of the intermediate print data and the mode designation information set in the header of the intermediate print data of the document to be printed by the decomposer, depending on the case, R, G , After the conversion into the data of the B color space, a predetermined process is performed to generate image data for printing. The document to be printed is printed as usual without the identification image being synthesized.

  On the other hand, when the document to be printed is a document instructed to synthesize the identification image, the identification image addition instruction is output from the first program to the second program, so that the identification program data is read from the HDD 28 in the second program. Parameters that specify that the read identification image data should be processed in the Y, M, C, K color space, and parameters that specify the synthesis position of the identification image on the document to be printed (specified by this parameter) The intermediate print data is used to determine the development position of the identification image when the intermediate print data is developed into print image data (bitmap data) by the decomposer. Add to the data part of the data. The second program overwrites the mode designation information set in the header of the intermediate print data of the print target document with information specifying the high-definition mode as the print mode in the decomposing process, and then the intermediate print data of the print target document. Is transferred to the printer 14. Thus, the third embodiment also corresponds to the invention described in claim 1 (specifically, the invention described in claim 8).

  As a result, for a document to be printed in which the identification image is instructed, the identification image data (bits in the Y, M, C, and K color spaces representing the identification image) are added after the identification image data is added to the intermediate print data. Map data) is synthesized with the image data for printing by the decomposing process by the decomposer without being converted into data of other color spaces such as the R, G, B color space. The print target document is printed using the print image data, so that the identification image is accurately printed so that the authenticity of the document can be determined, and the printed matter obtained by printing by the image forming unit 44. The presence of the embedded image can be confirmed when the identification image printed thereon is observed by irradiating infrared light.

  In the third embodiment, when it is desired to print the identification image on the document to be printed, the identification image can be printed accurately only by instructing the composition of the identification image on the document to be printed. This eliminates the need for the user to select an appropriate printer driver and print mode in order to accurately print the identification image, thereby reducing the burden on the user when the identification image is combined with the document to be printed and printed. it can.

  In the third embodiment, the identification image data is not initially added to the document data of the document to be printed, and the identification image data is converted into intermediate print data when the user instructs the composition of the identification image. Although an example of adding is described, the present invention is not limited to this. Identification image data may be added to a document to be printed by combining identification images from the beginning. In this case, by determining whether or not identification image data is added to the document data of the document to be printed, it is possible to determine whether or not the document to be printed is a document instructed to combine identification images. In addition, the identification image data added to the intermediate print data generated through the processing by the printer driver is overwritten with the regular identification image data by the second program of the identification image print control program, so that the identification image can be accurately obtained. Can be printed.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the fourth embodiment, the identification image printing control program is installed in the non-volatile storage unit of the storage unit 40 of the printer 14, and the identification image data is also stored in this storage unit. As shown in FIG. 7, in the fourth embodiment, when the generation of the printing image data by the decomposer is completed, the identification image printing control program is started by the printer control unit 38 being executed. The The identification image printing control program reads identification image data from a non-volatile storage unit, and the read identification image data is generated as a printing image data (bitmap of Y, M, C, K color space representing a document to be printed). Data). Then, the image data for printing combined with the identification image data is transferred to the image forming unit 44, so that the print target document combined with the identification image is printed by the image forming unit 44. Thus, the fourth embodiment also corresponds to the invention described in claim 1 (specifically, the invention described in claim 9).

  In the fourth embodiment, after print image data that is bitmap data in the Y, M, C, and K color spaces is generated, the identification image data is combined with the print image data. Therefore, a printer driver or a decomposer is used. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the identification image data from being changed to data that cannot accurately print the identification image due to the influence of the processing in (1). Accordingly, the identification image can be printed accurately so that the authenticity of the document can be determined, and the identification image printed on the printed matter obtained by printing by the image forming unit 44 is irradiated with infrared light. When observed, the presence of the embedded image can be confirmed.

  In the fourth embodiment, when printing a print target document to be synthesized with an identification image, the data of the Y, M, C, K color space to be printed is another color space such as an R, G, B color space. Since the identification image can be printed accurately even when using a printer driver that is printed after being converted to the above data, or when the high-speed print mode is applied as the print mode, the printer driver or print mode as described above can be used. By selecting, it is also possible to print a print target document obtained by synthesizing the identification image at a relatively high speed.

  In the fourth embodiment, since the identification image data is uniformly combined with the print image data, the printing system 10 according to the fourth embodiment also uses the document in which the identification image is combined as in the first embodiment. However, instead of this, it is determined whether or not the identification image composition is instructed by the user, and only when the identification image composition is instructed, the print target document (print The identification image data may be combined with the image data for use. In addition, the identification image data combined with the image data for printing generated by the decomposer is overwritten with the regular identification image data because the identification image data is added to the document data of the document to be printed. May be. Also in this case, the identification image can be printed accurately.

[Fifth Embodiment]
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, in the fifth embodiment, as in the third embodiment described above, the identification image print control program according to the present invention instructs printing of the print target document via the document handling application. The first program is activated when the intermediate print data is transferred from the spooler to the printer 14, and the second program is activated.

  In the first to fourth embodiments described above, it is assumed that the identification image is synthesized at a certain position on the document to be printed. However, in the fifth embodiment, document handling is performed on the computer 12. While the application is activated and the document to be processed is displayed on the display 22, a temporary identification image can be displayed on the display 22, and the user operates the mouse 26 or the like to temporarily display the temporary display position of the document. By changing the display position of the identification image, the combination position of the identification image on the document can be arbitrarily designated. When the combination position of the identification image is designated by the user, the provisional identification image data is added to the corresponding document information, and the combination position information indicating the combination position of the designated identification image is also added. In FIG. 8, the provisional identification image is indicated by a broken line.

  In the fifth embodiment, printing of a print target document is instructed via the document handling application, the first program of the identification image print control program is started on the computer 12, and the document data of the print target document is obtained from the document handling application. When delivered to the first program, the first program determines whether or not provisional identification image data is added to the document data delivered from the document handling application, and if the provisional identification image data is added. Obtains the combined position information added together with the document data. Then, only when the temporary identification image data is added to the document data of the document to be printed, the acquired combined position information is output to the second program.

  The first program activates the printer driver designated by the user at the time of the print instruction, delivers the document data of the document to be printed to the activated printer driver, and activates the print mode designated by the user at the time of the print instruction. Is notified to the intermediate print data from the delivered document data in the designated print mode. In the fifth embodiment, the intermediate print data is generated from the document data of the document to be printed in the print mode specified by the user by the printer driver specified by the user. As in the third embodiment described above, the image data in the Y, M, C, K color space included in the information of the print target document is printed without being converted into image data in another color space. The data cannot be guaranteed.

  In the fifth embodiment, if temporary identification image data is not added to the document data of the document to be printed, the combined position information is not output from the first program to the second program, so intermediate printing from the spooler to the printer 14 is performed. In the second program activated when the data is transferred, the intermediate print data of the print target document to be transferred is simply transferred to the printer 14 without performing processing such as overwriting of identification image data to be described later. Do. In this case, depending on the parameters added to each data described in the data body of the intermediate print data and the mode designation information set in the header of the intermediate print data of the document to be printed by the decomposer, depending on the case, R, G , After the conversion into the data of the B color space, a predetermined process is performed to generate image data for printing. The print target document is printed as usual without the identification image being synthesized.

  On the other hand, when the temporary identification image data is added to the document data of the document to be printed, the combined position information is output from the first program to the second program. The identification image data is read, and the read regular identification image data is a parameter that specifies that the data should be processed in the Y, M, C, K color space, and the identification image synthesis position on the document to be printed (first After adding parameters for designating the composite position represented by the composite position information input from one program, the regular identification image data with these parameters added is described in the data portion of the intermediate print data of the document to be printed. The temporary identification image data is overwritten and added. The second program overwrites the mode designation information set in the header of the intermediate print data of the print target document with information specifying the high-definition mode as the print mode in the decomposing process, and then the intermediate print data of the print target document. Is transferred to the printer 14. Thus, the third embodiment also corresponds to the invention described in claim 1 (specifically, the invention described in claim 10).

  As a result, for a document to be printed in which temporary identification image data is combined at an arbitrary combination position, the temporary identification image data is overwritten with the normal identification image data, so that the normal identification image data is added to the intermediate print data. At the same time, information indicating the position where the temporary identification image is combined is added as a parameter to the intermediate print data, so that the regular identification image added to the intermediate print data by overwriting the temporary identification image data The data (bitmap data in the Y, M, C, K color space representing the identification image) is converted into data in another color space such as the R, G, B color space, and the like by the decomposing process by the decomposer. The image data for printing is synthesized at the synthesis position represented by the synthesis position information.

  As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, the identification image can be synthesized at an arbitrary position on the print target document, and the print target document is printed using the print image data. Thus, the identification image is accurately printed at a position on the document designated by the provisional identification image so that the authenticity of the document can be determined, and is printed on the printed matter obtained by printing by the image forming unit 44. When the identification image is observed by irradiating with infrared light, the presence of the embedded image can be confirmed.

  In the fifth embodiment, the aspect in which the temporary identification image data included in the intermediate print data is overwritten with the regular identification image data when the intermediate print data is generated by the printer driver has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and after the print image data is generated by the decomposer, the temporary identification image data included in the generated print image data is overwritten with the regular identification image data. Also good.

  Further, in the above, as an identification image according to the present invention, an embedded image composed only of K of Y, M, C, and K color components and an embedded image composed of Y, M, and C other than K are superimposed. The identification image configured as described above has been described as an example. However, the specific color component used for printing the embedded image has a light reflectance of a printing agent in a specific wavelength region (other than the infrared region), and other color components are printed. Any color component different from the agent may be used, and other color components that meet the above-described conditions may be applied as the specific color component.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a printing system according to an embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the outline of the identification image which concerns on this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows an example of the document printing process in 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the other example of the document printing process in 1st Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the document printing process in 2nd Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the document printing process in 3rd Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the document printing process in 4th Embodiment. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the document printing process in 5th Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

10 Printing System 12 Computer 14 Printer 28 HDD
38 Printer control unit 40 Storage unit 42 Operation unit 44 Image forming unit

Claims (10)

Intermediate printing in which document information of the print target document is described in a page description language by a printer driver with respect to the document information of the print target document in order to print the print target document using printing agents of a plurality of color components by a printer A process including a first process for converting to data and a second process for developing the intermediate print data into the print image data by a decomposer, thereby identifying the print target document by separating it into the plurality of color components. A print control device that generates print image data of a color space,
The embedded image composed only of the specific color component of the plurality of color components and the embedded image composed of the color components other than the specific color component among the plurality of color components are superimposed and printed The identification image is separated into the plurality of color components when printing a print target document in which an identification image in which an embedded image is processed in advance is combined so that it is difficult to visually recognize the embedded image with visible light. The identification image data given as the data of the specific color space is controlled so as to be combined with the print image data without being subjected to color space conversion processing, and different processing as the printer driver A plurality of types of printer drivers for performing the first processing of contents are prepared, and printing is performed without once converting data of a specific color space to be printed into data of another color space. Up by a specific printer driver capable, and wherein the first processing on document information of the print target document the identification image data is added with an identification image control means for controlling to be performed Print control device. The specific printer driver includes a first print mode in which data in a specific color space to be printed is printed without being converted into data in another color space, and data in a specific color space to be printed at the time of printing. A second print mode that is once converted to data in a color space of the image, and the identification image control means is configured to output the specific printer to the document information of the document to be printed to which the identification image data is added. The print control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the driver performs control so that the first process is performed in the first print mode. The image processing apparatus further includes a determination unit that determines whether or not the identification image data is added to the document information of the document to be printed. The identification image control unit adds the identification image data to the document information by the determination unit. The print control apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the print control apparatus is activated when it is determined that the print control is performed. The identification image control means, claims, characterized in that to print by combining the identification image on the print target document when instructed, adds the identification image data in the document information of the print target document The print control apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 . Designation means for designating a combined position of the identification image on the displayed print target document in a state where the print target document is displayed on the display means based on document information of the print target document; , Further comprising display control means for displaying the identification image at the combination position designated via the designation means,
The identification image control means adds or synthesizes the identification image data so that a print target document in which the identification image is synthesized is printed at a synthesis position designated via the designation means. The printing control apparatus according to claim 4 . The printing agent is toner, the plurality of color components are Y, M, C, K, according to claim 1 wherein the specific color component of the toner is characterized in that it is a K containing an infrared light absorbing dye The printing control apparatus according to claim 1 . The identification image includes a first region composed of m × m pixels (m is an integer of 2 or more) and a second region composed of n × n pixels ( n is an integer of 1 or more and less than m), and is independent of each other. The plurality of first regions are arranged without gaps around the single second region, and the plurality of second regions independent from each other are arranged at substantially equal intervals along the outer periphery of the single first region. made, the object to be embedded images are arranged in dot in the first region, the buried image any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it is arranged by dots in the second region print control apparatus one of claims. Intermediate printing in which document information of the print target document is described in a page description language by a printer driver with respect to the document information of the print target document in order to print the print target document using printing agents of a plurality of color components by a printer A process including a first process for converting to data and a second process for developing the intermediate print data into the print image data by a decomposer, thereby identifying the print target document by separating it into the plurality of color components. When generating print image data for the color space,
The embedded image composed only of the specific color component of the plurality of color components and the embedded image composed of the color components other than the specific color component among the plurality of color components are superimposed and printed The identification image is separated into the plurality of color components when printing a print target document in which an identification image in which an embedded image is processed in advance is combined so that it is difficult to visually recognize the embedded image with visible light. The identification image data given as the data of the specific color space is controlled so as to be combined with the print image data without being subjected to color space conversion processing, and different processing as the printer driver A plurality of types of printer drivers for performing the first processing of contents are prepared, and printing is performed without once converting data of a specific color space to be printed into data of another color space. Printing control method characterized by bets is the specific printer driver capable, the first process is controlled to be performed with respect to the document information of the print target document the identification image data is added. A state in which an embedded image composed only of a specific color component of a plurality of color components and an embedded image composed of a color component other than the specific color component among the plurality of color components are superimposed and printed The print target document obtained by synthesizing the identification image in which the embedded image has been processed in advance so that the embedded image is difficult to visually recognize with visible light is applied to the printing agent of the plurality of color components by a printer connected to a computer. The document information of the document to be printed is converted into intermediate print data described in a page description language by a printer driver, and the intermediate print data is decomposed into the plurality of color components by a decomposer. In generating the print image data by developing the print image data in a specific color space expressed as
As a printer driver that performs the first process of converting document information of a document to be printed into intermediate print data described in a page description language, printing is performed without once converting data in a specific color space to be printed into data in another color space. A specific printer driver capable of being installed on the computer,
The first print mode in which data in a specific color space to be printed is temporarily converted into data in another color space and data in the specific color space to be printed are different in the specific print driver. In the case where a second print mode for printing after being converted into color space data is provided, the first processing by the specific printer driver is always performed in the first print mode. A printing control method characterized by setting. Intermediate printing in which document information of the print target document is described in a page description language by a printer driver with respect to the document information of the print target document in order to print the print target document using printing agents of a plurality of color components by a printer A process including a first process for converting to data and a second process for developing the intermediate print data into the print image data by a decomposer, thereby identifying the print target document by separating it into the plurality of color components. A computer that generates print image data in a color space
The embedded image composed only of the specific color component of the plurality of color components and the embedded image composed of the color components other than the specific color component among the plurality of color components are superimposed and printed The identification image is separated into the plurality of color components when printing a print target document in which an identification image in which an embedded image is processed in advance is combined so that it is difficult to visually recognize the embedded image with visible light. The identification image data given as the data of the specific color space is controlled so as to be combined with the print image data without being subjected to color space conversion processing, and different processing as the printer driver A plurality of types of printer drivers for performing the first processing of contents are prepared, and printing is performed without once converting data of a specific color space to be printed into data of another color space. Up by a specific printer driver capable, and characterized in that to function as a control to identify the image control means such that the first process is performed on the document information of the print target document the identification image data is added Print control program.

Images